Withers

[oneyequine]

[QUOTE=vineyridge;6047711]

And since there is no bony connection between the scapula and the rest of the horse, the withers as attachment point are crucial.

.[/QUOTE]

No bone or joint as such, but it is certainly attached, and shoulder blade length and slope (effectively largely determines wither set), humerus, and even the top-line all relate to the wither. The wither set even relates to hind length through the top-line but that’s getting a bit advanced for this thread. So many variations in all of this and the effect of the wither that you really do need to apply a very open mind.

The importance of the wither in isolation itself may be questionable, as it appears a horse can break a wither point without it effecting function (Apart from effect acute pain etc). It may be more about what the withers position says about the shoulder blade, back, neck set etc, rather than anything the wither itself does.

[EqTrainer]

And isnt this why we evaluate and breed for certain conformation traits? To imply it is not valid to identify similiarities in type for a given discipline… Well, that would mean all this careful selective breeding for physical and mental characteristics was all hooey.

[oneyequine]

[QUOTE=EqTrainer;6047765]
And isnt this why we evaluate and breed for certain conformation traits? To imply it is not valid to identify similiarities in type for a given discipline… Well, that would mean all this careful selective breeding for physical and mental characteristics was all hooey.[/QUOTE]

Yes, part of this is recognizing the traits that are certainly preferred in certain disciplines, while also knowing which have some give or variation. It may also be worth considering that certain varied overall ‘types’ may also both be suited to the one discipline, and for varied reasoning.